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A Sustainable Home for Business

The innovative home of the Ithaca College School of Business,
which opened its doors in spring 2008, is a top-to-bottom,
real-world example of environmental stewardship that incorporates
the highest principles of sustainable design and practice.

In fact, the Dorothy D. and Roy H. Park Center for Business and
Sustainable Enterprise was among the first 100 buildings in the
world to receive platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design) certification, the highest level granted by
the U.S. Green Building Council. It is also the first of two
buildings on campus with platinum status, as the Peggy Ryan
Williams Center earned the designation in late 2010.

Situated in the center of the College campus, the Park Center's
U-shaped seating areas, numerous collaborative breakout rooms, and
small conference rooms allow students a home base to work and learn
together in an atmosphere similar to the professional environment
they will one day occupy.

A home to students

A striking four-story tall window enclosure dominates the Park
Center’s design and allows natural light to flood into the
structure. Throughout the day and evening, students gather in the
airy, well-lit atrium — which spans parts of the first and
second floors — to study and socialize at the tables,
comfortable couches, and padded chairs placed in the space. Flat
screen televisions mounted on the wall are tuned to national news
channels, and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee from the snack
kiosk wafts through the air.

With plenty of outlets for laptops and phone chargers, students
can stay plugged into their work and remain close to the
state-of-the art technologies and classrooms the facility houses.
The overall effect of the Park Center design is an environment that
invites collaboration in every nook.

“From the time they enter Ithaca College we try to get
across to our students that they are part of the School of Business
community and the spaces provided by the building reinforce that
sense of community,” says Mary Ellen Zuckerman, dean of the
School of Business.

“Students participate in classes, clubs, meetings with
professors, study groups, social events, and meals here in the
building,” Zuckerman adds. “They see their professors
and the School of Business staff in the stairway, at the
café and in the halls, which fosters informal
communication.”

A 21st-Century Business Learning
Environment

One of the centerpieces of the business school is the Center for
Trading and Analysis of Financial Instruments, which debuted in
1995. Informally known as the trading room, it has nearly doubled
in size to 1,200 square feet and now features 44 workstations with
double-screen monitors providing real-time access to security
exchanges and other market data. Students and faculty like to boast
that our financial ticker is ahead of the one displayed on CNN. The
trading room is the facility of choice for a number of courses,
including one in which students manage an actual financial
portfolio with $100,000 of real capital, thanks to a gift from an
anonymous donor.

In addition, budding executives can hone their corporate
speaking skills in the 32-seat moot boardroom. With glorious views
of Cayuga Lake and the surrounding hillsides of Tompkins County,
the glass-enclosed New York Business
School is a hi-tech venue for hosting debates or PowerPoint
presentations. Students can also work together using the
collaborative technology classroom's several laptop workstations
and can build teamwork skills in the small-group breakout rooms
scattered throughout the building.

At the Forefront

With a robust capacity for 21st-century technology, flexible
spaces for creative learning, and innovative concepts for building
community, the 38,000-square-foot Dorothy D. and Roy H. Park Center
for Business and Sustainable Enterprise is a progressive building
that fosters team skills, entrepreneurial spirit, and dynamic
energy essential in today's workplace.